


The Vaultie

by Nyxxie



Series: Adams [2]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Blood and Violence, Canon Typical Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mentions of PTSD, Mentions of alcohol and tobacco and other evil things, Veteran Nora, implied depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 16:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18877315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyxxie/pseuds/Nyxxie
Summary: Nora isn't a very happy widow.Also, she adopts some new friends.





	The Vaultie

Two hundred years.  
Nora sat in what remained of her family home, on the couch where she and Nate used to cuddle while he read those silly comics out loud to her. Two hundred years, she’d been frozen in that vault, while above her the world went to shit.  
She’d woken up into a world that only a few hours before in her memory had been green, people crawling like ants everywhere. And now everything was browned and covered in dust and rust and mold. She walked past the skeletons of people she’d seen breathing a few hours before, after killing bugs the size of small dogs with a baton, walked into her family home, and come to realise just how fucked she was. She’d put the living room back into some semblance of order, sat down on the couch, and stared at the floor for what appeared to be a few hours now,fiddling with the fucking holotape. The sun had gotten lower in the sky, now, and the shadows in her living room were growing longer.  
Fuck Vault-tec. She figured most of the sadistic bastards were much like the ones in the vault, dead and rotted away, eaten by those giant radroaches, and it served them right. But, Marie was gone. Lou. Helena. Mum. Nate’s parents up in Washington. All of them, too, not just Vault Tech. All gone.  
“Mum, are you alright?”  
Nora looked up at the Mr.Handy. Of course it was cockroaches and the robot that had survived. She wasn’t a huge fan of the thing, but in the past few hours Codsworth had been a welcome familiar, er, face. And a surprising help in learning about the world she’d been spat into, if only because the poor metal bastard had been up here that entire time enduring the shitshow.  
“I’m fine, Codsworth, thanks.” She replied. He seemed skeptical- understandable in a way-, and once again Nora had to wonder how much personality was needed in a glorified toaster oven. A machine that was skeptical seemed a bit too much. She ignored him for now, instead playing with the holotape in her hand, Hi Honey! Written on it in Nate’s rough scrawl. Popping it into her Pip-boy was tempting. She wants to hear his voice, even though she heard it just yesterday. Yesterday, or two hundred years ago.  
In the end, it went in a pack Codsworth gave her, unlistened to.  
\-----  
Nora wandered into Concord about a week after emerging, having been drawn from the Red Rocket where she usually salvaged by the sound of gunshots. She’d been avoiding it, remembering the church and the stores and the Vets hall and everything else when it had been alive.  
Armed with her tire iron and her 10mm, she walked through the dead streets, with the dog at her side.  
The beautiful German Shepherd who’d wandered into her life a few days ago crouched quietly by her side, while Nora scoped out the tableau.The old Museum of Freedom was surrounded by the ragged, filthy humans Codsworth had called Raiders, and at first she figured they had simply come across another group of their kind and gotten into a fight over drugs or a gun. But then she noticed that the fire from the Museums window was different than usual, some sort of laser. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she took aim with her gun at a woman with a seriously questionable hairstyle. As soon as she opened fire at the Raiders, the dog raced into the fray like a furry juggernaut, his ferocious bark ringing out through the air to echo Nora’s warcry.  
Nora used the 10mm sparingly, changing to her tire iron almost immediately. Ammo needed to be conserved, and there was something incredibly satisfying about the thump of metal on flesh and bone. Motherhood had softened her a bit, and her body had to readjust to this kind of exercise again.  
She snarled, slamming the tire iron into a large, scarred mans teeth. She felt them shatter, and watched the blood spatter. Red, and glistening.  
“Hey, up here, on the balcony!”  
Nora looked up, and saw some man standing there, holding some sort of rifle and dressed in interesting clothes. What the hell was up with that hat, anyways?  
“I’ve got a group of settlers inside! The raiders are almost through the door!”  
Settlers? Now she was definitely interested. She threw him a quick salute, and ran for the door, blood hungry and now hoping perhaps there were people other than Raiders left in this world.  
\----  
Preston Garvey greeted her with the tired relief of the battleworn, though he certainly seemed far too trusting of a random woman in a Vault suit, covered in the blood of her enemies and wielding a red stained tire iron. At her side, the dog wagged his tail and smiled at Preston, while Nora looked around the room. She saw a group of lost, frightened people, as tired looking as Preston. While the dog made friends, Nora leaned against the door to catch her breath.  
“Have to be the first civilised people I’ve seen in forever.” She said. “Happy to help.”  
He nodded. “It’s appreciated. It’s been rough since we left Quincey. A month ago there were twenty of us. Yesterday there were eight. Now it’s just the five of us. It’s just me, the Longs -Marcy and Jun- that’s old Mama Murphy on the couch, and this here’s Sturges.” He gestured to the tall, grease monkey type frantically typing away at the terminal behind him, who simply said ‘hey’ in response before returning to swearing at the ancient piece of tech. Nora pursed her lips.  
“Sounds rough.” She said. “I winged as many as I could, but there's a lot of Raiders still out there. You guys got any other options?”  
“You bet.” Said Sturges, finally leaving the terminal. “There's a crashed vertibird on the roof. Old school, pre war. You mighta seen it. Well it looks like one of its passengers left behind a seriously sweet goody. We’re talking a full suit of cherry T-45 power armour. Military issue.”  
Nora found herself smiling at the unabashed enthusiasm in the mans voice. “I like it.” She said, imagining the kind of havoc she could wreak on the assholes outside with something like that.  
Sturges chuckled. “Yeah, thought you might.”  
\----  
Raiders were easy enough to handle. A few skulls to crack, and a minigun to take care of the bigger boys, all while safely encased in metal. Killing people had long ago ceased to be a problem, so oh yeah, Nora didn't mind raiders.  
What happened though would fuck her whole perception of the world up forever.  
She'd figured the old woman was simply chem addled. Hadn't expected her to be right about something big and angry, until suddenly it popped out of the sewer with a roar like something from Judgement Day. The thing was massive, like some sort of irradiated dragon, and yup, it was angry. Holy fuck, when it turned towards Nora she wondered vaguely if she was going to die there and now, Shaun still lost, Codsworth alone again and these people left at the mercy of Raiders and giant reptilian horrors.  
She turned her mini gun on that thing and pumped it full of lead, screaming all the while. Fuck, fuck, fuck!  
When it lifted her up, Nora’s stupid brain helpfully supplied its two cents with ‘Jesus, that is one ugly face.’ The armour groaned under the monster's grip, and it's putrid breath somehow made it through the helmets filters. She gagged, before it dropped her, and she staggered back to her feet to send more bullets into its body. When that thing died, she just kind of sagged while Preston and Sturges ran out, a broad smile on the Minuteman’s face.  
“You okay?” Preston asked, noticing her lack of movement.  
“The fuck was that?” Nora demanded, thankful for the armour hiding her shaking.  
“Deathclaw.” Said Sturges. “Mama Murphy wasn't kidding.”  
And Nora had thought giant bugs were bad.  
\----  
She quickly picked over the raiders corpses for anything good; armour of course, as well as ammo and weapons. She found a nice shotgun and a machete, which she decided she'd keep, and some stimpaks. Thankfully she hadn't had to use much of her meager supply this round.  
She popped back into the museum afterwards, where Preston and his people were prepping to head out. They still looked tired, but Sturges threw her a smile and Mama Murphy still looked spaced out, though she threw Nora an unfocused smile. The dog, Dogmeat -great name- barks happily when he sees Nora, tail thumping on the rotting floor. Marcy glared, contrary and mean. Jun looked ready to cry.  
For some reason, Nora decided to help the poor bastards out, asking them where they're heading and becoming pleasantly surprised when she learns they're trying to get to Sanctuary. Of course the chem addled granny wanted them to go to her home, but she was right about the Deathclaw, so maybe that was something. And new neighbours couldn't hurt.  
Without indicating she knew what they were talking about, Nora offered to escort the little group home.  
Walking up the road in the suit of armour, she didn't notice Preston falling back a bit to walk beside her. Friendly cuss, she thought, with a surprising lack of irritation.  
“I can't thank you enough for the help.” He said.  
“Told you before. You guys are the first halfway civilized people I've met since getting here. I'd be one hell of an asshole not to give you a hand.”  
“I didn't catch your name.”  
Nora contemplated a minute before finally introducing herself, just her first name, and that seems to be enough. He nods, and they chat quietly. Under the helmet, she finds herself smiling when Preston sees the Minuteman monument.  
The hope, and the excitement in the little group is tangible, sending a small spark of warmth through Nora. When Preston stops her on the bridge to thank her, she doesn’t even think before telling him she lived here, before the war. She tries to deliver it nonchalantly, hopes the tremble in her voice doesn’t show.  
He takes it better than she thought he would, but then again this is a man living in a world with drug addict seers and giant lizard monsters. When they've crossed, she leads them up to the house where Codsworth is waiting, using some of her salvage to fix a hole in the wall.  
“Good to see you, mum!” He greets her cheerfully as she exits the power armour. “And you brought guests! Marvellous!”  
Preston stared at the Mr. Handy warily.  
“Codsworth, this is Preston Garvey. Preston, this is my buddy Codsworth.”  
“Um, hello.”  
“Pleasure to meet you sir!” The robot said cheerfully, waving a sharp metal arm.  
“Codsworth, do you think you could help me get these people settled? They've come a long way.”  
“Right away mum!” Codsworth quickly saluted, before floating into the house. Nora sighed, and walked across to the neighbouring house, gesturing for Preston to follow. “Cods and I started clearing this place out a few days ago. It'll be a temporary fix for now, if you and your people don't mind a little hard work.”  
“Not at all.” Preston said. Over on the dead grass, a heap of scrap and salvage Nora and Codsworth had been gathering lay, with tools all around it. Inside the house was mostly empty now, and it looked like Cods had started reinforcing the walls while she’d been out. This was going to be a storage area, but it'd do to shelter a few settlers for a bit instead.  
“If your people need anything, let Codsworth know.”  
“That Mr. Handy.” Preston said, unable to disguise the suspicion in his voice. “It doesn't, act funny, does it?”  
“A lot of personality.” Nora chuckled. “Other than that, he’s alright. He’s been a lot of help.” She’d never liked the robot back before the world burned up, but now, he’d proven invaluable. Who’d have thought that 200 years later she’d be relying on the robot she’d balked at getting in the first place, Nate insisting it’d help two domestically challenged young people keep their house clean.  
Codsworth buzzed over to Sturges, who grinned and began to talk to him like an old friend.  
The sight of people walking through the ruins of her old home was odd after almost two weeks of just her, Codsworth and the dog, and she felt weird. An emotion she couldn’t quite place unfurling inside her.  
She hoped she’d like these neighbors more than the last ones.  
\----  
When Preston woke up, it was to the sound of a single thruster. He jerked up immediately, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings while tightening his grip arouand his gun. He was slouched against the walls of a ruined house, the world dimly lit by dawn and the glow of a Mr. Handy’s thruster.  
“Ah, good morning, Mr. Garvey.” Said the robot, peering down at the Minuteman with its three eye stalks. “You must have been tired. Nothing a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast can’t fix.”  
“Rise and shine, sleepy head.” Sturges said, peering around the side of the house with a cheeky grin. He had always been an early riser, even more so than Preston. “Codsworth cooks a mean radstag and tato hash. Don’t wanna miss it.”  
“When did I fall asleep?”  
“Around midnight, Mr. Garvey. Not to worry. I always keep watch for Miss Nora, it’s no trouble to do so for her friends.” If a robot could beam, Codsworth could have lit up a room. Warily, Preston stood up and followed his friend and the weird robot butler. No sign of their mysterious friend Nora anywheres, though if he had to guess she was in the one other reinforced house in the neighborhood, across from where the settlers were bunking.  
The Mr. Handy dished up some of the food and handed it to Preston, before wandering off again and leaving Preston and Sturges alone.  
“You’re beatin’ yourself up.” Sturges said. “You were tired. Christ, Pres, you’re only human”  
“Me nodding off like that. That gets people killed. I can’t lose anyone else.” Preston said.  
Sturges crossed his arm, used to this line of thought. “Call me crazy, Preston, but I don’t think Nora will let that happen.”  
Preston would probably agree with that. Whoever this strange Vaultie was, she seemed to have taken a liking to their ragtag band of survivors. But it didn't stop the thoughts.  
While he ate, he heard the return of the robot. This time Codsworth brought company, in the form of a still half asleep Vault Dweller, hair mussed and scarred face set in a scowl to rival Marcy’s, and a happy smiling Dogmeat.  
“Morning, ma’am.” Sturges, ever the morning person, greeted Nora with a smile. She nodded, taking the portion of food Codsworth offered her and mutely eating. She picked some off her plate and fed it to the dog, who chuffed happily.  
“How’d you boys sleep?” She asked finally.  
“First good night's sleep in a while, ma’am.” Sturges said, scratching Dogmeat between his ears when he came to beg.  
“Glad to hear. We’ll get you guys settled in, maybe that'll help.” She said. Preston still couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This woman had come out of the blue, like some sort of guardian angel from those old world religions. A surly, two hundred year old strange angel with a love of bludgeoning people to death.  
“How are you doing, Garvey?”  
Preston looked up abruptly. Nora was looking at him, green eyes piercing, expectant. Like she knew what demons were lurking inside his head.  
“Just fine, ma’am.” He replied.  
“Good. Cause I’m gonna need all of you to get this place up and running.” Said Nora.  
\----  
Over the next few weeks, they cleaned out and shored up enough houses for Preston's little group. The Mr. Handy seemed delighted to have neighbours again, offering tea and lemonade, before realising he had neither and settling for water.  
Marcy started a little garden plot with Mama Murphy, Nora got Jun taking apart salvage for parts, Codsworth would bring back food from somewhere, and Nora and Sturges got together putting together a water purifier for the river and then turrets for the perimeter. All in all, it was all Preston could have hoped for. And when beds appeared outside in the street one day, courtesy of Nora and Codsworth vanishing in the night, Preston could have hugged that woman.  
Of course, it wasn’t hard to see that the Vaultie was not a people person. She avoided the other settlers, only really willingly interacting with Preston and Sturges, and it was really clear she hated Marcy. Nora was also prone to vanishing, though she had her habits.  
One day, though, when Preston and Sturges went to the cooking pit for their morning breakfast, Nora didn’t show up.  
It was unusual, for the Vault Dweller to miss this little routine. When she wasn’t up by what he judged to be eleven, Preston went hunting.  
The house Nora had claimed as her own was quiet, Codsworth hovering outside it. The robot noticed Preston’s approach, and waved. “Ah, Mr. Garvey. I’m afraid Miss Nora is still sleeping.”  
“Just came to check on her. Brought her some breakfast. Any chance I could sneak inside and leave it for her?”  
Codsworth seemed unsure, and Preston was sure he’d say no until the door opened, and Dogmeat came shooting out with a happy yap. Nora peered out, looking even worse than she usually did in the morning. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes, and her short hair looked like something had been living in.  
“What?”  
“I brought coffee.” Preston said, holding up a ceramic cup. “And food.”  
She pursed her lips, and then opened the door a little more. “Can’t say no to that.” She said. Leaving the door opened, she vanished back into the house. Preston took that to be as much of an invitation as he was going to get, and followed her, leaving a bemused Codsworth to care for an energized, happy Dogmeat.  
Stepping inside, he saw Nora sitting quietly at a table. Must’ve been a nice place, prewar. Now, there was a suit of power armour looming in the living room, tools and empty bottles strewn across the table, the floor, the counters. On the couch, there was a pillow and a ragged blanket, and on the chair in the corner there was a heap of leather armour, discarded the night before.  
Preston put the coffee and the plate down in front of her. Nora grabbed the mug, sniffing at the substance inside and sighing happily.  
“How the hell did you find coffee?” She asked.  
“We make it from stilt beans. Codsworth mentioned you missed it.”  
She smiled a little. “Thanks, Garvey.” She sipped the drink, and they sat in silence much like they would have if she’d been up a few hours before.  
“Sturges could probably help you with that power armour.” Preston said, gesturing at the hulking form. Same one from Concord, beaten up and clawed. Nora hummed. Setting the cup down, she leaned over a little bit and held her head like it hurt. He chose to ignore the empty bourbon bottles that might explain her illness.  
“Good to know.” She mumbled. “You know, you’re alright, Garvey. Nate would have liked you.”  
“Your husband?” Preston said, remembering the ring on her finger. It was rare in the wasteland, to wear a wedding band, but not unheard of. Nora nodded.  
“Friendliest bastard I’ve ever met. Had an uncanny way of reading people, knowing the good eggs from the bad ones within minutes of meeting them. Made his job interesting. Makes me wonder why he stuck with me.” She snorted. “Hung out with the boy scouts like you.”  
“Should I be offended?” Preston asked, though he found himself smiling. Nora chuckled.  
“Hardly. Didn’t think there were any left until I found you.” She said. “I mean, there were giant cockroaches, and those fucking molerats, and then raiders. Didn't know if there were any good people anymore.”  
“Glad you found us. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough, Nora.” He said.  
She shrugged. “Just, I dunno, keep bringing me coffee every now and then, and we’ll be fine.”  
\---  
“You Minutemen really had your work cut out for you, huh?”  
Preston nodded breathlessly, grateful he’d dragged Nora along with him for this mission. When he’d caught word that Tenpines Bluff was going through some hard times, he’d decided that was as good a way as any to start rebuilding the Minutemen. And truth be told, he’d wanted to get Nora involved in it since shortly after meeting the woman, despite her proclivity towards violence.  
Evidence towards that lay all round them, bodies of raiders who bore some form of blunt force or another courtesy of his odd companion, or teeth marks thanks to a happily wagging Dogmeat.  
“Wait until you have to deal with ferals.” Preston said. “Or super mutants.”  
Her eyebrows went up. “The fuck is a super mutant?”  
“Big, green and angry.” He said. “And best avoided at all costs.”  
“Oh, fun.” The Vaultie sighed. “Well, at least these fuckers won’t be bugging those farmers anymore. And look at all the salvage here. Not like Corvega’s gonna be using it anymore, or these shitstains. Wanna make Sturges’ day and bring him some goodies?”  
“If you want to, I guess.” Preston said. While Nora wandered around, he watched her, watched her back with the dog happily sniffing around. She could snoop for hours, dragging out bits of questionable salvage and quickly tossing it into her pack.  
By the time she’s done, Preston doesn’t want to imagine how much her bag weighs. She shouldered it easily though, and holds her hand out.  
“Here, found you some ammo for your sidearm. A couple stims, too.” She handed it to him, and pulled out her bladed tire iron again, ready to head out.  
Lexington didn’t hold any kind of good memory for Preston, who is eager to get the hell out of that town. Walking through the streets, he listens for the telltale, moist noises of ferals. The creatures infested the ruins, and he could remember all too well how easily he and his survivors had been routed by them.  
“Bad memories?” Nora asked suddenly, her voice barely above a whisper.  
Preston nodded, and clutched his gun a little tighter. She knew, of course, what had happened around here. It had come up during breakfast one day about a week ago.  
The Vaultie slowed so she was within arms length of him, and while she probably wouldn't know what to look out for, she was obviously on high alert. It didn't hurt that the dog was with them.  
“Try and shoot them.” Said Preston. “They can give you rad poisoning if they get close enough to hit you.”  
“Great.” Hissed Nora.  
They didn't run into anything right away, and Preston foolishly let himself hope they'd make it out scot free. Not a chance.  
He realised with a chill these streets were familiar, and then he heard it. A low, gurgling growl and that moist noise typical of ferals being disturbed.  
Nora saw his body language change, and she tensed as well, her shotgun at the ready. Her green eyes were searching everywhere, scanning the shattered windows and gaping holes in the walls. Another croak, and Preston saw the first one, all hunched and jerky come shambling out of an alley, and he felt that first bit of panic rising up.  
Nora hadn't seen a feral before, so the Vaulties reaction was not unusual. She just stared, as though trying to process the irradiated mess that used to be human.  
The twisted, scarred thing saw them around the time one of its buddies came around after it. The first feral grunted and with surprising speed lurched towards the little trio. Dogmeat growled, hackles up and shiny white canines bared, and Nora held her shotgun up.  
First timers are never prepared for the speed, and Nora was no exception. She swore a blue streak as the feral hurled itself at her, unconcerned as the gun fired again and again. The Vaultie backed away and for a moment Preston lost track of her as he dealt with his own mindless ghoul. And more were coming. He could hear the slap slap slap of their feet on worn asphalt, and more in the buildings above.  
One lunged at him, too close for comfort, and the Minuteman bludgeoned it away quickly with the butt of his gun, while Dogmeat grabbed its legs with vicious teeth and yanked it like a sack of wet grass.  
He heard Nora scream. A larger ghoul had it’s teeth latched into her shoulder, clammy, twisted hands tearing through weak points in the leather armour and Vault Suit.  
“Shit! Hold on, Nora!” Preston yelled. The dog got there first, and Preston thanked whatever gods listening for that mutt. Nora herself had twisted around, trying to flip the deranged creature off of her. Her face was contorted in agony, and there was blood making its way through the fabric of her Vault Suit.  
\---  
Nora’s shoulder was on fire. She’d been shot, she’d been stabbed, but none of those wounds had ever hurt as much as whatever had just happened. One minute, she’d been putting a bullet in a crippled feral’s head, and the next minute something slammed into her and everything went to shit.  
Someone screamed, and it took her a moment to realise it was herself. She scrabbled to dislodge whatever was biting her, feeling clammy, gnarly skin. The instincts of dozens of fights took over and she jerked the fucker around, punched it, trying to dislodge the thing, but it stubbornly hung on. She hit something, a mailbox she thought, and stars exploded in her skull, and the ghoul hung on.  
Fire, fire in her blood. What had Garvey said about rad damage? In her panic, her shot gun had been dropped, but her tireiron was still hanging at her side, so she grabbed that and slammed the handle into the ferals face a few times, forcing it off of her with pure adrenaline.  
She heard a bark, and saw Dogmeat charging to her aid, and Preston. Fuck. He looked freaked out.  
He shot the ghoul in the head with his sidearm, musket slung over his shoulder. He swore, something she’d never heard from him before, as he hauled her up. He said something, but it seemed something wasn’t working correctly because it was meaningless.  
He hauled her the fuck out of there, running as best he could with her dead weight ass hanging off him. She couldn’t tell if there were more ferals, prayed there weren’t. If Preston died trying to save her dumbass, she’d never forgive herself.  
\---  
Hours later, they’d taken shelter in a house on the outskirts of the city. Nora lay on one of their bedrolls, propped up against the wall with Preston at her side, holding the bag of RadAway as it slowly pumped into her. Discarded stimpacks and med-x needles lay around them, used to help heal up the wound and dull the pain. She watched him through drug addled eyes, looking absolutely miserable. She wasn’t allowed to fall asleep yet though, not until he could get a better look at that head wound.  
“Feel like shit.” Nora slurred.  
Preston couldn’t help the wan smile that ghosted his lips. “You got bit by a ghoul. I’d expect so.”  
“Not gonna turn, am I?” She asked. “They just look like zombies, right?”  
“You’d need to take more than this to turn ghoul. And not everyone does. Some people just die.”  
“Lovely.” She winced a bit, turning a bit to look at him better. “You, okay? Didn’t get you too?”  
“I’m fine. Nothing a good night's sleep when we get home won’t fix.”  
She sighed. She’d need some better armour, something to cover her neck a little better. If Garvey and the dog hadn’t been there, she’d probably be feral chow.  
Everything was still fuzzy, and Preston sounded a little tinny. He looked so concerned, watching her carefully for any sign of dangerous damage while he'd probably popped a stim and said good enough for himself. Boyscout, she thought affectionately.  
\---  
Everything is cold, and dark. It is nothing, a void, and she is alone.  
Then she sees it. A window. She can look through it, and can’t look away. Nate’s across from her, except this time the wound isn’t clean, it’s gaping and horrible and the man who did it, the bald man, has her baby.  
Shaun is crying, and there’s flecks of his daddy’s blood on his blanket. Nora pounds on the glass, screaming obscenities at the man.  
“You put Shaun down, you motherfucker! You fucking piece of shit, I will kill you!” Her throat is hoarse from yelling, her hands hurt from pounding on the glass. Then, she can’t move anymore. Her voice is gone, and everything refreezes, and her husband is dead. But that's just it, it doesn’t return to black, it’s just Nate, dead in that cryopod and Nora helpless to save the only person she gave a shit about.  
\---  
“Nora!”  
The Vaultie shot awake, eyes wide and hand scrabbling for a gun that wasn’t there.  
Preston knelt in front of her, all big puppy dog eyes and bleeding concern in the dim campfire light. His hands held her steady, and she felt a soft warmth at her back that she quickly realised was the dog. She just kind of stared at her companion, her brain slowly processing everything.  
“You were yelling.” Preston said, quietly.  
Shit. “Oh.” She said dully. Hopefully that hadn’t attracted anything to them Preston couldn’t handle on his own. Her last couple of episodes had been in Sanctuary, not out on the road, and she hadn’t been ready for it.  
He didn’t ask her anything, just sat beside her in silence. Probably how he’d fallen asleep, the big idiot.  
Without really meaning to, she leaned against him, sandwiched between him and the happily panting Dogmeat. “Relax, Garvey. If there was anything outside, Dog would tell us.” She sighed. “Sorry I woke you.”  
“Must still be feeling that med-x.” Preston said. “You’re acting weird.”  
She snorted, catching his teasing tone. “M’tired and you’re comfy.”  
He shifted a bit, and let her settle more comfortably against him. “Well, then get some sleep. I’ll wake you if it happens again.”  
She mumbled something against his sleeve that the Minuteman didn’t quite catch. Knowing Nora, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to. She was alive, at least for now, though they’d have to watch that bite. Feral bites had a good chance of getting infected. He’d treated it soon enough Nora should be safe.  
He figured she’d been dreaming about the Vault. She’d said her husbands name a few times. Nate, he knew, but she’d never mentioned a Shaun. Then again, he didn’t know much about Nora at all really. The woman was close lipped and dodgy. He wondered if he should ask, or could maybe, without her getting mad. If there was a way to help her.  
He decided to let it be, for now.  
\---  
The Vault Dweller stood back while Preston talked to the settlers, pulling out a pack of cigarettes she’d swiped from one of the raiders and lighting it up. She looked down over the trees, admiring the countryside around the tiny settlement. It was pretty around here, the area old and familiar like so much of the rest of the world. She’d gone camping up here with Dad, when she was younger, and she’d kept coming up when he’d passed away too. She’d hoped to bring Shaun here some day.  
Dogmeat was running around the trees, some strange doggy mood that made Nora chuckle, despite her mood. Her shoulder still hurt, but Pres had done his best until she could get home to Marcy. She was certainly looking forward to that, charming harpy that the woman was.  
“Cap for your thoughts?” Preston came to join her, gun at the ready. She was disappointed she’d lost her shotgun, but at least she was alive.  
“Only a cap?” She said, throwing him an insincere frown before putting the cig back in her mouth. God she’d missed nicotine.  
“Fine. Two.” He said, with a small smile.  
She shrugged. “Looking forward to visiting Sanctuary’s resident Florence Nightingale.”  
Preston’s confusion was obvious, and Nora sighed. “Y’know, don’t worry about it. Ready to head out?”  
“Yup. They agreed to join the Minutemen.” She hears the happiness in his voice, infectious and so very hopeful. “It’s a start.”  
Some kind of start, she thought, though she didn’t let her cynicism spoil his good mood. Not after he’d spent the past few days mothering and worrying over her while she was high and healing enough to move without being dead weight.  
As they started down the hill towards the rickety rope bridge, Dogmeat caught up to them, holding a baseball glove in his hand. Nora took it, scratching the dog between the ears. She still looked distracted, which was unusual for the Vaultie.  
“So, you gonna keep trying to rebuild the Minutemen, Garvey?” She asked.  
“Try my best.” He said. “Why, wanna help?”  
“Actually, yeah. Though, I’ll be honest, I’ve got my own reasons for trailing around with you.” She said. “I need to find someone, and you’re my best bet right now.”  
Now, that was interesting. Immediately, she had his attention. “You wanna find the guy who killed Nate, right?”  
“Oh, he did more than just kill my Nate.” She growled. “He took our son.”  
The idea that Nora had a kid didn’t quite meet with the expectations the Minuteman had built up the past month. His silence must’ve showed his surprise, because she laughed bitterly.  
“Yeah, me a mom, right? Funny, when I told my Mum I was pregnant she thought I was joking. He wasn’t even a year old when shit went down.” She said. “Just a baby. The only reason I didn’t go out looking for him sooner, is because I had no idea what I was doing.”  
“And you wanna look for him while we travel?” Preston asked.  
“If you don’t mind having my ghoul bait ass along for the ride.”  
“I don’t see why not. Actually, we could probably go to Diamond City. Lots of people pass through there, so maybe if we have no luck in the smaller settlements, we could ask around there.”  
Nora looked at him, green eyes bright and smiling. “Jesus Christ, Garvey, what’d I do to deserve you?”  
He looked away, though she could see the embarrassed smile. “So, what’s your son’s name?”  
“Shaun.” She said.  
He’d already guessed as much, but that knowledge had felt like a violation of her privacy, so he said nothing. He couldn’t stop grinning like a fool all the way back to Sanctuary, even when they had to deal with some bloatflies. Things were looking up for the first time in forever.  
Nora, on the other hand, felt a bit of grim satisfaction. Maybe, just maybe, she could find the fucker who killed her Nate and took her kid and spread his brains against the wall like a fucking painting. And if she had to help a few people out along the way, that was fine. Nate would want her to.  
'You shoulda killed me too, dickhead'.


End file.
